Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/230373
WHAT ARE YOUR RISKS? Protecting Your Business In addition to professional liability insurance, ABMP also offers optional Business Personal Property (BPP) coverage. This coverage protects against loss of business equipment in the case of fire, theft, or other disasters. ABMP members can add BPP to their memberships for an additional fee—$95 a year for $10,000 in business equipment insurance, or $250 a year for $25,000 in business equipment insurance. "But I'm a Student" Just because you aren't yet practicing your craft in the community doesn't mean you're not responsible for the touch you provide. Do you ever work in the school clinic or participate in a schoolsponsored massage event? If so, you can likely be held liable if someone is harmed during the course of those events and names you as a responsible party. The school's insurance may cover only the school and its assets for such claims, not individual students. ABMP's Executive Director Katie Armitage says ABMP has seen claims in this category reach upward of $500,000. If you're a student, check with your school to see if you're protected. "But My Employer Covers Me" Are you sure? "Many employers mistakenly think their employees and contractors are covered by their business policy, when, in fact, the policy does not provide for employees' individual coverage," Armitage says. "And if you are covered under an employer's policy, you may not have access to their legal defense provision." Also, employers' policies usually only apply to services performed on their premises and won't provide coverage anywhere else. Armitage says it's a good idea for therapists to maintain their own professional liability insurance to be assured they are fully covered. "Some boiler plate policies may not provide coverage for all the services you provide, so you need to be sure." Occurrence-form policies are the best option for your liability needs, because they continue to protect you even after you are no longer insured, Armitage says. Many lawsuits aren't filed until the statute of limitations has nearly run out (two years after the incident, in most states). So, for example, if your insurance was effective in July 2012, you would still be covered for any incidents that occurred in July 2012 if a former client waited until now to report that incident and file a claim—even if you have since let your policy lapse, are out of business, or changed insurance providers. If, however, you had a claims-made policy, you would not be covered in this example. Claims-made policies provide coverage only for claims that are made while the policy is active. If your claims-made policy expires, and someone files a claim against you later, you would have no coverage, even though you were insured at the time of the incident. Claims-made policies are less expensive because they provide considerably less coverage, in a way that may not be immediately obvious to many buyers from simply reviewing the coverage limits. Are General and Product Liability Included? There are three types of liability, and each is an important piece of your insurance portfolio: 1) professional liability covers the work you do; 2) general liability covers the "slip and fall" scenarios; and 3) product liability covers situations where clients have an adverse reaction to a product you use on them (or a product you sell them for home use). Many policies offered for massage therapists may have one, but not all three of these important pieces. ABMP's coverage includes professional, general, and product liability. It pays to be ABMP Certified: www.abmp.com/go/certifiedcentral 95